below: A lonely ladybug and bumblebee await the return of the kids. Playgrounds still closed because of Covid-19.

below: Barriers around the pool in front of the Toronto 3D sign at Nathan Phillips Square. A perfect spot for a quiet picnic.

below: New mural on Charles Street – painted September 2019, by Justus Becker (from Frankfurt Germany) as part of the 2019 StART mural exchange program. One lens of the glasses is reflecting Toronto while the other lens mirrors Frankfurt.

below: Behind College Park (777 Bay Street)

below: If plants die on city property and no one is there to notice, does it really matter?

below: Two big rats anthropomorphized into a cute little Chinese couple on a Canada Post box. They appear on some of the stamps issued by the post office in honour of the Year of the Rat. The rat is the first of the 12 animals in the 12 year cycle of the old Chinese calendar. The rat also represents the hours of 11 p.m. to 1 a.m., in other words, both midnight and the beginning of a new day. Perhaps we are approaching midnight and our new day is just around the corner?

below: Is this seat taken?

below: Who can resist Unicorn Beauty?

Social distancing can be challenge even when most people are staying home. The way that the city and construction sites manage the sidewalks downtown barely worked before. Now, the confinement of the sidewalk space makes it impossible for two people to pass and still comply with safety guidelines. With some awareness, along with the ability to walk on the streets, it is possible to give everyone ample room. There is a debate going on about whether or not to close some streets, or at least close some lanes to traffic, to provide more space for walkers. Those on the “no” side such as the Toronto Public Health, claim that it just encourages more people to be out when they should be at home; it undermines “directives against people congregating in groups”.

More recently, a program called CurbTO has begun whereby some curb lanes are opened to either pedestrians or to parking for curbside pickup from stores. But even here, it’s not necessarily for walkers, but for people lining up to get into stores. It’s going to be a very different situation once pedestrian and traffic levels start to return to what they were in the old days and there are going to have been some infrastructure adaptations.

below: Navigating the sidewalks while still complying with what governments and health officials are suggesting. Note the poster on the wall “We are all in this together”.

below: It’s not often that traffic stops on Yonge Street for pedestrians and their pets.

below: On the southeast corner of Yonge and Gerrard, the facade of an old building is being preserved.

below: Brick and roofline details.

below: I was impressed by the engineering that is involved in keeping these old facades intact while the interior is gutted.

below: Talking to the polaroid guy.

below: No standing takes on a new meaning

below: Looking south on Bay Street from Queen.

below: Richmond Street construction, west of University Avenue.

This was my first time on the subway since mid-March. There were very few people there so it was easy avoiding them but once again, safely re-opening a city is not going to be easy. The packed buses and subways are going to be problematic.

or maybe chicken fight. ‘Fight’ seemed a little too violent whereas ‘squabble’ seems to minimize the protesters concerns. Somewhere in the middle lies the truth perhaps. I am referring to the scene outside Canada’s first Chick Fil A restaurant here in Toronto – at Yonge and Bloor of all places.

In case you are unfamiliar with the backstory – Chick Fil A is still a family business (the Cathy family) yet it is the largest chicken restaurant in the USA as well as that country’s third largest fast food restaurant. There are more than 2300 Chick Fil A’s south of the border.

The controversy started a few years ago when the Cathy’s came out against same sex marriages and their family foundation donated to organizations that were anti-LGBQT.

below: Police controlling the numbers of people who enter the restaurant.

below: After the rain the leaves lie stuck to the path and tangled up in the grass.

below: Or stuck in the fence

below: You can’t escape the cranes…..

below: … or the hoardings.

below: Magnus and Angel are missing…. Is this a coincidence?

below: Pink flowers and a purple door.

below: Built in 1892, this building was once the Church of the Messiah Rectory. The church is the next building to the right (with the slightly yellow stones)

below: Faded flower of a different kind

below: Building behind the Rosedale Diner, as seen from Crown Lane

below: Locked door

below: Graffiti on private property.

below: The limestone Summerhill LCBO store which was originally the North Toronto Canadian Pacific train station. The clock tower is 43m high.

below: From a different angle, the station when it was first built in 1916. The tracks are still there but only freight trains pass by these days. It only lasted as a passenger station until September 1930. Back in the day if you wanted to take a train to Lindsay or Bobcaygeon, this is where you’d go although you could also get a train to Ottawa (via Peterborough & Smith’s Falls) or Montreal.

below: No stop ahead

below: “Help negro and white people mass (?) produce painted stones and hide them” plus a lot of other lines and shapes that might be letters or words.

below: I also came across this box yesterday – Sam the Chinese Food Man and other signs.

below: I have vague memories of such a Sam’s restaurant so I went online to find out more about it. What I found is this image in a “Lost Toronto” blogpost. It is Yonge Street just south of Gerrard (the Rio Theatre was 373 Yonge Street). Did you know that Toronto once had a wax museum?

below: Looking northwest at the intersection of Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue West where seven large collages by Daniel Mazzone dominate the corner.

below: On the right, James Dean. It’s difficult to see in this photo, but there are some pink letters on either side of his face. On the left it says “Dream as if you’ll live forever”. On the right is says, “Live as if you will die today”.

below: She repeats. This woman is at the two ends. As far as I can tell, the only difference is the colour of the pattern in the background. On St. Clair it’s purple while it’s red on Yonge. Superman is on her forehead and, in fact, most of the pieces that are used in this artwork are from Superman comics.

below: Charlie Chaplin above the bus shelter. Many of the images used to create the face are also pictures of Charlie Chaplin.

below: Love sees no colour, with Michael Jackson above Yonge Street.

below: “Looking for Beauty” by Daniel Mazzone. Does she see any? There are a few Supermans here too, especially in her face. “Splow” is written in green on her neck.

Open Streets – the second, and final, Open Streets for 2018 was held last Sunday. Large sections of Bloor and Yonge Streets downtown were closed to traffic leaving lots of room for cyclists, pedestrians and a number of activities.

below: Axe Capoeira

below: Mayada’s Belly Dance at Yonge & Bloor

below: And other dancing in the street too – or rather, a very active fitness session!

below: It looks like animals can dance too… this dog seems to be having a great time!

below: Little drummer boy on a fancy Home Depot drum set!

below: Decorating bikes and scooters

below: Sharing a hammock in the middle of Yonge Street.

below: Trumpet lessons

below: Yoga in the park

below: And for those who were looking for something less active…

below: Yonge Street was also on the route of the 2018 Toronto AIDS walk

While walking on Yonge Street on the day of the Pride Parade, I noticed that the St. Charles tavern clock tower was visible once more. Also on that day, I heard someone ask the person beside them what the tower was. The answer was something like, “I don’t know what it is but it looks interesting.” I went back this weekend to take some pictures – not quite so many people in the way!

below: The St. Charles as it was back in the 1950’s. It was built by Charles Hemstead who had made his money in real estate and horse breeding. Hemstead sold it in 1958 but it continued as the St. Charles until 1987.

photo credit: 1955. Photo by James Salmon, originally found at Toronto Public Library. I found it online at Toronto.com in an excellent article about the history of the building and its role in the LGBQT community.

I have always associated the tower with the St. Charles Tavern but I now know that the tower pre-dates the St. Charles by many decades. It was built as part of Fire Hall Number 3 in the 1870s. Although the fire hall is long gone (it was replaced by the fire hall on Grosvenor Street in the 1920’s), the clock tower has survived several changes of ownership. It is also going to survive the next change which, of course, is the building of a large glass and steel condo on the southwest corner of Yonge & Grosvenor.

below: The site has been cleared. Looking south from Grosvenor.

below: Looking north up Yonge Street towards Grosvenor. The yellow scaffolding is holding up the brick facade of 480 and 482 Yonge Street. It too will be incorporated into the new development. Can you count how many new condos there are? Did you notice that the two clock faces say different times?

The clock kept time until 1969. It had been maintained by the city up until then. Repairs and upkeep stopped when the city decided that the cost was too much. Maybe it will function once again in the near future.